Scoliosis brace



24, 1954 E. E. TALKISH 2,687,129

scoLIosIs BRACE Filed 11, 1952 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Ernest E. Talkish mmvrox.

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Aug. 24, 1954 E. E. TALKISH SCOLIOSIS BRACE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan.11, 1952 Ernest E. Talkish mmvron.

9 BY M,

Patented Aug. 24, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SCOLIOSIS BRACEErnest E. Talkish, Erie, Pa. Application January 11, 1952, Serial No.265,961

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to orthopedic appliances for treatinglateral curvature of the spine (scoliosis), and more specifically toscoliosis corrective braces which are adjustable to fit the contour of abody.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved scoliosisbrace which is designed to firmly brace one side of the body at theupper and lower ends of the curvature of the spine and to haveadjustable tension means for engaging the body tangential to point ofgreatest convexity of the spine.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved scoliosisbrace which is provided with hip and chest engaging pads formed of metalto conform to the body contour.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved scoliosisbrace having hip and chest pads which are adapted to be secured to thebody of a person suffering from scoliosis by straps.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved scoliosisbrace which is provided with chest and hip pads and corrective tensionstraps carried by said pads.

A further object of this invention isto provide an improved scoliosisbrace which is provided with chest and hip pads rigidly and adjustablysecured together to form a rigid brace adapted to be supported on thehip and chest of a user.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certainnovel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elementsand portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in thespecification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part ofthis application, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved scoliosis brace, which isthe subject of this invention, the brace being illustrated as beingpositioned on a human body;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the improved scoliosis brace similarto Figure 1, the human body being shown in dotted lines in order toclearly show the details of the brace;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse horizontal sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 33 on Figure2 and showing the arrangement of the tension strap and hip padsupporting strap with respect to the hip pad;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the scoliosis brace as illustrated inFigure 1, the securing and tensioning straps being omitted; and

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantiallyupon the plane indicated by the section line 5-5 of Figure 4 and showingthe manner in which a strap securing buckle is attached to the hip pad.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elementsand portions throughout the specification and throughout the differentviews of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the scoliosis brace, which isthesubject of this invention, is referred to in general by the referencenumeral l0 and illustrated as being mounted on a human body I 2.

The scoliosis brace It! includes a hip pad is which is shaped to conformto the shape of the hip of the body I2. It will be noted that the hippad rests on the hip in such a manner that the hip forms a support forthe hip pad 14 whereby the hip pad may be rigidly seated thereon. Inorder that the hip pad [4 will not irritate the hip of the body 12, itis provided with a felt lining I6. Both the hip pad I4 and itsassociated felt lining i6 are provided with aligned apertures l8therethrough in order to form air vents through which the hip on whichhip pad I4 is mounted may be properly ventilated.

Attached to the rear edge of the hip pad M on its outer side is a strapconnector 20, the strap connector is secured to the hip pad is by aconventional rivet 22 and has secured thereto a loop portion 24 of a websecuring strap 26. Carried at the forward edge of the hip pad is andsecured to the outer surface thereof is a buckle member 28. The bucklemember is secured to the hip pad M by a conventional rivet 30. Thebuckle member 28 is provided with a rectangular strap receiving opening32 having a serrated edge 34 for engaging the web strap 26 and maintainthe same in its adjusted position. The strap 26 is urged against theserrated edge 34 by a sliding retaining member 35 on the buckle member28.

As is clearly illustrated in Figure l, the hip pad I4 is secured inplace by the strap 26 which passes around the body l2 and engages theopposite hip.

The scoliosis brace It) also includes a chest pad 38 which, engages thechest, the upper ribs and a portion of the back of the body 12. In orderto prevent irritation of those portions of the body engaged by the chestpad 38, the chest pad is provided with a felt lining 40. The chest pad38 and its associated felt lining 40 are provided with a plurality ofaligned apertures 42 which are similar to the apertures it of the hippad l4, and are intended to ventilate the areas of the body [2 coveredby the chest pad.

Secured to the rear edge of the chest pad 38 on its outer surfacethereof is a strap connector 44 identical to the strap connector carriedby the hip pad M. The strap connector M carries 'a web strap 46 whichpasses around the upper portion of the body l2 and has its free endsecured to the front edge of the chest pad 38 by a buckle 48. The buckle48 is identical to the buckle 28 and secured to the outer surface of thechest pad 38 by a conventional rivet 5i).

Secured to the rear upper edge of the chest pad 38 on the outer surfacethereof adjacent the strap connector 44 is a second strap connector 52.Carried by the strap connector 52 is the looped end of a web strap 54which extends over the shoulder of the body and is secured to the frontupper edge of the chest pad 38 by a strap buckle 56. s

The buckle 56 is identical to the buckles 28 and 48 and is secured tothe outer surface of the chest pad 38 adjacent the buckle 48 by aconventional rivet 58.

The hip pad I4 is provided with a vertical extending connecting bar Ellsecured thereto in the central portion thereof by rivets 52. Theconnecting bar 56 has a portion extending upwardly beyond the hip pad l4and is provided with an elongated slot 64.

The chest pad 38 is provided with a downwardly extending connecting bar66 which is secured to the intermediate portion thereof by a pluralityof rivets 68. The connecting bar 65 has a portion extending below thechest pad 38 which is provided with an elongated slot 76.

The chest pad 38 is secured to the hip pad [4 by the overlappingextending portions of the connecting bars and 66 which are securedtogether by a plurality of bolts 12 passing through the elongated slots64 and 10 of the connecting bars and 66, respectively. The hip pad I4may be adjusted with respect to the chest pad 38 by moving the pads totheir desired relation and clamping same by Wing nuts 14 on the bolts12.

Located between the connecting bars 60 and is a buckle member l6.- Thebuckle member '16 is secured in place by the bolts 72 passing throughapertures 18 therein. A tension belt is secured to the buckle member 16by a loop portion 82. around the central portion of the body l2 with itsfree end secured to a serrated edge 84 on the other side of the buckle16. The strap 80 is maintained in engagement with the serrated edge 84by a retaining member 86 slidably mounted on the buckle 16. The strap 80is provided with a loop 88 which is adapted to hold the free end of thestrap. The strap 80 is provided with a felt pad 90 for engaging the ribson the opposite side of the body l2.

While the scoliosis brace I0 is described as being mounted on the bodyI2, it should be understood that the brace l0 may be secured to the bodyof any person suffering from scoliosis. By placing the brace I0 on thesame side of the body as the concave aspect of the scoliotic curve withthe felt pad 90 on the convex side of the curve and adjusting the pad sothat it is tangent to the spine at its point of greatest convexity, thefelt pad is in a position where it can apply a counter force about thepart of the body to be treated. The tension strap 80 associated with Thefree end of the belt 80 is passed the felt pad 90 is then tensioned toapply force to the felt pad. This tension may be varied from time totime in keeping with the progress of the person being treated. Thesupporting straps 26, :36 and 54 provide a secure and comfortableanchorage for the brace.

This scoliosis brace may be worn with comfort next to the skin, or itmay be worn over the underclothing. The useof the brace in no wayinterferes with traction treatment or other manipulative treatment ofscoliosis, nor is its use inconsistent with these forms of treatment.

The hip and chest pads are preferably formed of malleable cast aluminum;it will be understood that they may be made of hammered steel, plasticor any other suitable material.

The operation of this brace will be understood from the foregoingdescription of the details thereof, taken in connection with the aboverecited objects and drawings. Further description would appear to beunnecessary.

Minor modifications of the brace, varying in minor details from theembodiment of the brace illustrated and described here, may be resortedto without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, asdefined in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A scoliosis corrective brace comprising a rigid hip pad conforming tothe shape of a wearers hip, a rigid chest pad conforming to the shape ofa wearers chest, means rigidly connecting said hip and chest pads,supporting straps carried by said hip and chest pads and intended toencircle a wearers trunk to position said hip and chest pads, a trunkencircling tension strap carried by said connecting means intermediatesaid hip and chest pads, said connecting means including alignedconnecting bars rigidly secured to the chest and hip pads, saidconnecting bars being overlapped and having aligned elongated slotstherein, fasteners clamping said bars together and securing said chestand hip pads in spaced adjusted positions, said hip' and chest padstogether with said connecting bars forming a rigid beam, a bucklesecured to said connecting bars,

said tension strap being carried by said buckleand cooperating with saidhip and chest pads to apply direct leverage to a spine, said hip andchest pads being intended to be secured to the same side of a body as isthe concave aspect of thescoliotic curve, whereby the spine may becontinuously and adjustably urged to a straightened position by saidtension strap.

2. The scoliosis brace of claim 1 wherein said buckle is adjustably'secured to said connecting bars by said fasteners whereby said tensionstrap may be vertically adjusted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName l ate 9,826 Abbe July 5, 1853 970,781 Battershall Sept. 29, 19101,931,990 Massack Oct. 24. 1933 1,992,904 Preston Feb. 26, 19352,060,173 Buschenfeldt Nov. 10. 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date13,385 Austria Sept. 25, 1903

